Experiences in the Country

Have you ever gone to the countryside for a vacation? The country – with its green fields, trees, colorful flowers, chirping birds, cows and carabaos in the pasture, flowing creeks and rivers, simple folks, and FRESH AIR, is very enticing during the hot, summer months. Imagine yourself living in a place having only the bare essentials – meaning there’s only a radio and a television set for entertainment, no telephone lines (therefore no internet), no malls, and no cinemas. Having a cellphone is useless because there is no signal. It’s not so bad. In fact I always look forward to summer when I can go to the country for a vacation. Here’s one of my country experiences.
Last summer, I was beginning to get bored because I had nothing to do at home. I was jealous with my brothers because they have summer art classes, while I was left at home. There I was, watching television, eating and sleeping, doing a little household chore, reading and rereading my pocketbooks. I was beginning to die with boredom.
Fortunately (or maybe it was destiny), my uncle from the province visited us. When it was time for him to leave the next day, he asked me if I would like to go back with him to the province. I never hesitated to say yes. Of course I asked the permission of my parents and surprisingly they agreed. I think they also wanted to show me that they trust me (a little). I cannot recall much about the trip because I was asleep most of the time. When we arrived, I went right away to my grandparents’ house where I was welcomed by my Lolo and Lola (my father’s parents). My cousins from Cagayan de Oro who were there on vacation, also welcomed me. They came to the province right after the end of classes. I was so excited to see all of them.
One of the things I could not forget was the food – no hotdogs or hamburgers or pizza! Instead, there’s always native chicken cooked in many different ways (tinola, fried, with sauce). For merienda, there’s banana cue, suman, bibingka and the very famous Argao “torta”. All of these with matching hot chocolate (from real “tabliya”). My cousins and I were also fascinated with Lolo’s carabao and its balsa. We watched Lolo feed the carabao with napier grass and noticed the funny way the carabao chewed. We also saw Lolo’s scythe (“sanggot”) and how different it looked from his bolo (“sundang”). It was quite an experience for us watching Lola cook food, not using a stove with LPG but instead, using firewood in the dirty kitchen. I cannot forget how we enjoyed watching Lolo and Lola “harvest” bananas and corn from their farm.
In the country (or province), you feel like everyone is a relative and that everyone knows everybody else. You have to acknowledge every person you meet lest they get offended. I was surprised how news about Nemesio’s and Asuncion’s grandchildren was easily passed on by word of mouth. I felt I became part of a very close-knit community.
My cousins and I sometimes help in the household chores. We helped fetch water from a nearby well (“tabay”). We noticed how people help each other during important occasions. We had the chance to help in the food preparation during the fiesta (during the month of May). There were always people to turn to in times of crisis as I had noticed while attending a wake of a relative. I never thought attending a wake could be enjoyable. People stayed overnight, playing “mahjong” or cards while younger people tell scary stories. However, gatherings like these caused a little embarrassment for my cousins and I because people tend to treat us differently – like we’re very important people. Yaiks! I was never used to this kind of treatment. We were also invited to every occasion or celebration in the homes of our relatives (close or distant).
Everything felt really nice in the country – the hospitality of the people, the beauty of nature. We thought we have everything in the city. After my experiences in the country, I felt like what we really need are just the bare necessities – the rest are just decorations and trimmings. Why don’t you try the country once in a while? It will surely be a good place for a city guy or gal to unwind.